


Love in Unexpected Places

by nmichaelis



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015), Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fix-It, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 09:39:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6074367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nmichaelis/pseuds/nmichaelis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valentine’s role in Lancelot’s death led to Agent Gary Unwin’s assignment to watch over Kingsman, an independent intelligence agency. Finding his soulmate in the course of his mission was definitely unexpected, not that Eggsy knew the identity of his soulmate when he never bothered to find out, at least not until the fore-mentioned soulmate told him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer  
> I own nothing of Kingsman and/or James Bond universe. Even the idea of soulmate and soulmark come from other’s works.

_“People trust their eyes above all else - but most people see what they wish to see, or what they believe they should see; not what is really there”_

_― Zoë Marriott, Shadows on the Moon_

 

**Unknown, Catamarca Province, Argentina**

**5 th September 2014**

Chilly wind brushed past him and Eggsy shivered in his suit and coat, the light grey color blending nicely with the snowy white landscape but both pieces of clothing still not enough against the Argentina winter coupled with high altitude. He shifted on his perch up in the tree overlooking a lone wooden cabin where his target was taken to three or four hours ago. Two months of fruitless recon on the most important figures in the world, those who hadn’t disappeared yet anyway, and it was a kidnapping report from the Watchdog branch, whose duty was watching over the world’s various terrorist groups and mercenaries, who finally led them to this point.

“Q, you really should make a winter version of our suits. ‘m freezing my balls off up here,” Eggsy complained to his earpiece.

“Thank you for the input, Gary. I will think about it if you can make your self-appointed mentor finally returns his equipment intact. As it is, we are too busy fixing everything he breaks,” was the deadpanned reply.

“Well, damn, have to wait a long time, don’t I?” Eggsy muttered, lazily scanning the cabin. He straightened when he caught movement coming from the downward slope heading to the cabin. “Someone’s coming,” he whispered, raising binoculars and fiddling with the setting until he could see clearly the suited man striding confidently to the cabin, the item recording and streaming everything straight to Q’s computer. The man looked to be somewhere in his 40s with brown hair just starting to turn grey at the temple, his suit was tailored, not the regular off-the-rack, from the way the lines fell on his body, and he was holding a gun behind his back, black, silenced, and of unknown make.

“Hmm, interesting. They’re involved too?” Eggsy heard the mumbled comment, a known habit of the Quartermaster when he was absorbed in his work, which meant Q had found out the suited man’s identity. He was lowering the binoculars to change it with the new long-distance listening device, there’s a nice window by the side of the cabin, when there’s movement in the trees at the back of the cabin, and then another person coming up the slope at the front.

“At least two other person coming,” Eggsy whispered, aiming his binoculars for the person walking to the front door. Oh, he recognized this one. “Richmond Valentine,” he hissed questioningly.

“That’s him,” Q confirmed.

Valentine came up to the door and knocked. Three minutes later, it was opened by a dark-haired woman holding out a glass of amber liquid. Eggsy focused on her legs, the gleaming metal looked sharp with spot of dark red in the curves.

“Q, if I ever lost my legs, give me something like that, ‘kay?” Eggsy exchanged his binoculars for the gun-like listening device.

Q scoffed. “Obviously I’ll give you something better than that.”

“Sweet,” Eggsy grinned, aiming the laser to one of the window.

“…pleasantness due to our uninvited guest,” the conversation started to filter in. Ah, apparently the man from before was from a different side and most probably already dead. Eggsy sat back to listen.

  


***

  


**SIS Building, Vauxhall Cross**

**8 th September 2014**

Eggsy stepped off the elevator, greeted Moneypenny, and waited for the field-agent-turned-secretary to confirm his appointment. He saluted the woman as he pushed the door to M’s office. Mallory was sitting behind his desk, stationeries cluttering the dark wood surface. Eggsy recognized his handwriting on the paper right in front of his superior, must be his report on the newly-dubbed Valentine mission.

“Gary, do you still have the medal given to you 19 years ago?”

Eggsy blinked. “Yes, I kept it in my apartment,” he replied without noticeable pause despite his confusion.

“Then I have a new mission for you,” Mallory handed him a packet of papers, “In there is a copy of our available information on Kingsman, an independent international intelligence agency based somewhere in England. We’ve had them under surveillance since the end of the WWII but we haven’t done anything about them because they’re useful. It was the agency who recruited your father after his tenure in the Marines and your medal can be your key to make contact with them, or at least one of their members. Get close to them and find out what they know about Valentine’s plot.”

“Do you think this Kingsman is under Valentine’s influence?” Eggsy asked absently, skimming the packet until he reached the photo of a somewhat familiar man. Harry Hart, youngest grandson to the Earl of Stafford, the current agent codenamed Galahad, and the man who imparted the news of his father’s death and gave him the medal.

“It’s a possibility but I don’t think so, no. The first man you saw in your recon was their Lancelot, James Spencer, although either he was working on his own or his handler lost his track, because their cleanup was rather late, three days after his death and we haven’t detected anyone approaching the place, unusually inefficient for Kingsman.”

“I just have to find out what they know? If they don’t know anything more than us?”

“Keep an eye on them. Professor Arnold was returned to his home unscathed, there might be more people like him, kidnapped and returned with no one the wiser. Kingsman were full of people from Britain’s aristocratic family, there might be some who have been targeted by Valentine. Do you have any other question about the mission?”

Eggsy tucked the packet under his arm, shook his head and said with a grin, “I’ll just pester Q if there’s any.”

Mallory sighed, a flicker of pity rising for the young Quartermaster but only said, “Do let him have some time off, Bond is due back in a week. Also, your clearance has been raised to level 7 to access the files on an independent agency.”

Eggsy’s mind whirled until a hypothesis was reached then he sent Mallory a questioning gaze which was answered with a wry nod.

Ah, so that’s how MI6 circumvented the no-killing beside double-O rule. How clever. Allowed the formation of independent agencies, leaked information of groups to be taken care of, and kept the information of their existence to a trusted circle for plausible deniability.

“Congratulations on your promotion, Gary,” Q intoned with a small smirk the moment Eggsy stepped foot into Q branch which the younger man returned with a bright smile and thanks.

The blond then commandeered an empty station and they fell into comfortable silence with Q returning to his gadgets and Eggsy reading the briefing packet. Eggsy loved their easy relationship, friendship formed when Q helped him out with his family situation and reinforced by their mutual exasperation with James’ ceaseless teasing. They were close despite the fairly large gap in years and their different field of expertise, Eggsy excelled in psychology and social anthropology while Q excelled in natural science and technology. It also helped that Eggsy challenged the other to think outside the box and helped in testing out experimental equipment, giving feedbacks and possible improvements instead of using them like one-time cheap items coughBondcough.

  


***

  


**London, England**

**16 th September 2014**

Eggsy watched through half-lidded eyes as the officer interrogating him left the room in a huff. He clearly expected him to give a last tearful call to his mom who might be able to make him see sense on talking about who fought with him because they didn’t believe him capable of beating up a group of six. He waited for the door to snap closed before pulling out the golden medal he’d worn with him since he was given the mission a week ago.

He closed his eyes like he was praying, hand tightening around the circular pendant, for the sake of the hidden camera and people behind the two way mirror just in case Kingsman had an agent in the police or they bothered to hack the record. And then he rang the number engraved shallowly on the back.

This better worked.

After reviewing the files on Kingsman, and it was a lot of information going back to sometime before the WWII, he’d decided the fastest approach would be with the medal he was given. He might be young then, just a little six year old kid, but the man’s words were burnt into his mind. Those were not something one said on behalf of his agency, they were a personal offer from the man himself. Agent Galahad, the recruiter of Lee Unwin and right now could be considered a senior agent after more than two decades of service. Hopefully he still remembered that offer, posh bloke like him, although his file stated he didn’t believe in upper class superiority like his fellows.

Twenty minutes later, Eggsy walked out of the police station free of charge with hunched shoulders, disappointment and frustration bubbling in his chest.

Customer service. Of course the bastard just delegated to his minions although Eggsy had made sure the man was in the city.

“Eggsy, would you like a lift home?”

The slow, sophisticated cadence made him think of Bond but no, the voice and tone were all wrong, Bond would have contained a teasing, seductive note, that damn flirt.

A man in pressed suit, thick-rimmed glasses, and perfectly styled hair stood at his right like he was waiting for him, which wouldn’t be far from the truth. This was Galahad, after all. Eggsy covered the excited twitch of his hand by putting them in his pocket, turning it into a defensive move in the face of a supposed stranger knowing his name and offering a ride of all things.

Good God, even with the information of the guy’s personality, he didn’t think anyone could be as shamelessly confident as Bond, but clearly he was wrong. He didn’t know he had to be horrified of amazed.

Horrified, he decided as Harry fought against what remains of Dean’s goons. Definitely horrified. The man was as much a show off as Bond it was terrifying. There was no need to use that umbrella against these lowlife thugs, really!

Eggsy at first told him to go away so he could take care of the group himself, this might be the chance to get the guy’s attention with his fighting skill, after all. The genuine anger in the tense line of Harry’s shoulders at Rotti’s slur was unexpected and confusing.

What the hell had his dad did that the man felt so obligated to the son of a man who died 20 years ago? MI6 only recorded it was something about dealing with a small terrorist group in the Middle East.

Changing his horrified shock into that of stunned admiration was easy but either it didn’t fool the older man or he was just one paranoid bloke, because he slapped a bug on the back of his jacket. Eggsy thought the latter because the older man had terrible poker face, his eyes, face, and body language were too expressive if one looked beyond his gentleman mannerism.

Harry Hart was a man controlled by his emotions, it was a wonder he lived this long as a spy.

Ah, but then, he was so much like Bond and Bond also has no tact anywhere in his bone, Eggsy remembered.

While waiting for the tube, Eggsy pulled out his phone, plugged the earphones, and blared the playlist. He hummed along at some part, the soft sound received by the mic and the gadget pulled the corresponding lyrics already stored in the phone and sent them along to Q to be interpreted. It was their preferred method of communication when he had to report something in public places where anyone could be listening. Basically, he reported that contact had been made, he was under surveillance, and could someone leak his address to Dean’s former goons or arranged something else to put him in danger because clearly, Harry Hart was going to play the role of knight in shining armor. The encounter in the pub earlier was a fortunate accident and Eggsy was going to exploit it for his own benefit.

Assistance from Q came in the form of a big guy breaking down the door to his little flat shouting demands to tell him who was the fucking geezer with him in the pub. Apparently he was Dean’s replacement after dear stepfather was thrown in jail never to see the light. Eggsy allowed the guy a few punch, letting one for his face hit true but moving away or blocking at the last second for the others, giving the illusion of a defenseless boy.

A few minutes went by, the guy spewing profanities and threats in his awful accent and Eggsy growing more worried he’d lost the contact.

Another minute and he will destroy the bug himself, Eggsy gritted his teeth. Threw his back against the wall hard enough at the right angle should do.

“I suggest you leave the boy alone, or I can send you to the appropriate authorities. I have enough evidence to have you locked up for quite a long time.”

The disembodied voice freaked the big guy enough he released his hold on Eggsy’s collar to look around the room anxiously.

“Eggsy, meet me at the tailor’s I told you about.”

Eggsy didn’t wait around, he planted an elbow into big guy’s gut until he doubled over in pain and then dashed outside. Some goons blocked the stairs so Eggsy went the other way which was a dead end, but he jumped off the railing, landed on another building, and didn’t stop running until he reached the street.

  


***

  


**SIS Building, Vauxhall Cross**

**16 th September 2014**

“Oh, this is bad,” Q muttered, wide eyes pinned to the screen where the dot signifying Eggsy’s location cut through the city and out to the south at the speed of a fast tube. He connected a line to M’s office and talked before M even finished his greeting. “Sir, Gary is taken out of the city, most probably to their headquarters considering his transport started at that tailor shop. His last transmission thirty minutes ago was ‘meeting contact’.”

“Do you think he’s been found out?”

Q forced himself to calm down and think rationally. Eggsy was one of the best, if not the best, infiltration specialist they had. The younger man could see through and analyze human psyche like people were bug inside a glass case, he would have warn them if Hart had suspected anything.

“Doubtful. But it brings up the question of why Mr. Hart or his associate takes him to their HQ?”

“Their Lancelot seat is empty,” Mallory finally said after a short break, “Mr. Hart once proposed Gary’s father for the position, it’s possible he is interested enough in Gary to give him the same chance.”

“But we never considered that scenario!” Q panicked.

“Keep an eye for his transmission, Q. I need to make an appointment with the Foreign Secretary for an authorization of a new double-O, there’s no telling what Kingsman will have Gary do for his test.”


	2. Chapter 2

_“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”_

_― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Boscombe Valley Mystery_

 

**UK HQ, Hampshire, England**

**17 th September 2014**

The door opened and Merlin knew who had come in without the person having to speak.

“Just in time, Galahad.”

The Scottish man knew his long-time friend had an unusual interest in his proposal, the agent’s presence in most of the day’s training was indication enough, not to mention the sickeningly affectionate gaze he gifted the young man whenever he wasn’t looking.

“Ten minutes after midnight and all lights out.”

Like on cue, water started rising in the room beyond the glass slowly and then more quickly until the beds were covered.

“Your boy has excellent reaction time, Galahad.” The boy had jolted awake the moment water reached the mattress, he must’ve felt it becoming wet or maybe some had splashed on him. He was the first to be awake and alert.

The pair watched and listened as the recruits panicked, Harry focusing on Eggsy than the others, seeing realization crossed his face when the water didn’t stop filling the room, sighing in relief when the young man swam for the communal shower the moment ‘loo snorkels’ left Miss Morton’s lips, and feeling proud when he shared his shower pipe with Percival’s proposal when the young woman didn’t get a showerhead of her own. And then Eggsy scanned the room once, head tilted up, turning slowly from right to left. Harry waited with bated breath when his head tilted in Amelia’s direction, Amelia who was still struggling with her blanket while the others were safe with unlimited air supply. A wide grin broke across his face when Eggsy left his place to swim towards Amelia, deceptively strong arms cleaved the water and brought him quickly to the older candidate, then he ripped the constricting blanket away in one move.

Unconsciously, Harry curled a hand over his left upper arm where his soulmark was branded into his skin, the number 9077 stood out in black gothic font beneath his suit.

It was 25 years ago, he was just on the way home from a mission in Yugoslavia, sat on the jet with a book and scotch, when his arm burned like someone had pushed a fiery brand to it. He had stumbled to the bathroom and stripped from his suit. His upper arm was boiling red then, and just starting to blacken was the number 0. He didn’t find out his soulmate’s name then, whoever it was still a baby, he would’ve felt like a pedophile. So he had waited, a long, hopeful 16 years.

Seeing the name of Lee’s son was like a punch to the stomach.

He had gotten his soulmate’s father killed.

He couldn’t remember how he got back to his home from the Soulmate Registry building on Vauxhall Cross, but when he came to, he was sprawled on the chair in his office with an empty bottle of scotch on the table.

As he threw out everything in his stomach into the porcelain bowl under Mr. Pickles dark eyes, he decided to let his soulmate contacted him if he wanted to know him. He waited a long time.

Seeing Eggsy for the first time since what seemed like forever was more nerve-wrecking than running from an army of guards intent on rendering him full of bullets. The familiar address slipped out before he could filter it and he immediately wanted to jump off a cliff, the young man must considered him an old pervert or something. It definitely wasn’t a good first impression but he hid his embarrassment and introduced himself confidently. He tried to gauge Eggsy’s response to his presence, to being soulmate with the bearer of bad news of his father’s death, and was relief to sense no hostility from his soulmate. Eggsy followed him to the pub and they talked, mostly about Lee’s death, but Harry also told the blond about his cover job as a tailor. He felt giddy just talking to Eggsy, like a teenage girl with a crush as Merlin pointed out to him which he denied resolutely.

The group of thugs who interrupted their date, at least Harry thought so in his head, irritated him, and then they dared insulted his soulmate!

Merlin had muttered something about showing off and Harry had to admit he did, he wanted Eggsy to notice him, wanted to show he was someone worth being a soulmate despite their uncommonly large age difference.

A fist slamming against the glass jerked him back into attention. Eggsy was crouching on the sink, arm pulled back to punch the two-way mirror.

Harry wondered if it was possible to feel anymore proud as Merlin and he stepped to the side seconds before the glass shattered and water thundered into the room.

“Congratulations on completing the first task, except you, Amelia, I’m afraid you have failed, such a rookie mistake too. Charlie, Roxy, well done for remembering simple physics. Eggsy, well done for helping out your friends and spotting the two-way mirror.”

Harry sidled up to Eggsy as the group trudged out of the room after Merlin, heading to another room where they could change into dry clothes while the water was drained out and everything wet was replaced.

“Congratulations, Eggsy. That was a wonderful performance. You did great helping Amelia.”

Eggsy hummed, theories forming at the strange exclusion. Why only Amelia when he helped Roxy too, who had arrived last to get her own showerhead? Did he know Amelia personally? Or maybe he was close to her sponsor?

Harry glanced sideway at Eggsy who was looking down at the floor with a thoughtful frown, mind obviously miles away. He found he didn’t really like that expression when he was walking right beside his younger half. He wanted that attention paid to him.

“What kind of food do you like?”

Eggsy blinked at the sudden, unrelated question and turned to look at his sponsor with an expression between confused and amused. A snort came from Merlin at the head of the group. Some of the guys walking ahead of them threw back curious look, Roxy aimed raised eyebrows at Eggsy to which he answered with a shrug, and Amelia had a funny look on her face like she was laughing and shaking her head which just cemented the theory that Harry knew her.

“Why ask?”

His eyebrows jumped to his forehead when Harry stared firmly at the ground instead of looking him in the eyes, like how a gentleman should be. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought the guy was shy, but this was someone with self-confidence at the same level as Bond, doubtful he had a shy bone in his body. Eggsy felt uneasy with this out of character action and took note to be careful with anything he ate and drank here just in case it was drugged or poison.

“While our foods here are not bad, I can bring you something more to your preference.” Harry was glad his voice came out steady.

Eggsy decided on a course of action in the fraction of a second it took to formulate his reply.

“Oh, I would love the pancetta pot pie and chocolate brownies at my workplace, our Angelique is really the best,” Eggsy praised the fearsome female who ruled their kitchen with iron skillet and butcher knife. He was inwardly jumping for joy at the kind offer.

The restaurant he officially worked at before this was owned by a retired MI6 agent, Michael, and mostly ran by retired and active agents as a cover, not unlike Kingsman and their tailor shop. It was one of many establishments like that around the world. Even active agents weren’t out on missions all the time and the part-time jobs helped cover their secret job and gave them alibis. It could also be a place to drop short messages, mostly status report, when an agent couldn’t risk to stop by the SIS building or contact their handler.

Pancetta pot pie was his favorite main menu which meant he was safe, and chocolate brownie was his favorite dessert which meant the mission was uncompromised.

Harry, who didn’t know the hidden purpose of Eggsy’s request, smiled fondly and promised to bring his order and convey his high opinion to the chef.

“Congratulations on successfully asking your crush for a date like a teenage girl, Galahad. Your subtlety astounds me, as always,” Merlin muttered sarcastically into the communication line of Harry’s glasses. “We’re here. Say good night and sweet dreams to you crush, Galahad.”

 

***

 

**Kingsman  HQ, England**

**14 th November 2014**

Almost two months into Kingsman training and Eggsy was becoming frustrated with his mission progress, or lack thereof. As new recruit, he didn’t exactly have much access to places and his interactions with Kingsman’s staff were rare, if he even met any at all beside Merlin, and that one was a tough cookie to crack. Harry had been in a coma for the last 7 weeks and counting. The man only said he was going to meet someone who witnessed the original’s Lancelot’s death, whom Eggsy knew to be Professor Arnold. Eggsy also knew the professor was dead in a bombing accident in Imperial College, it was in the news, which he assumed was Harry’s doing and somewhat excessive to deal with one civilian, especially when his main purpose was interrogation.

But then, the question would be why was Harry in a coma?

Merlin had said something about unknown substance in that conversation he overheard.

Eggsy closed his eyes to concentrate on unraveling the situation, a novel laid opened and abandoned on his lap.

The Kingsman knew less than him at this point or at least Merlin knew less than him, they didn’t even know it was Valentine behind everything.

Did Harry get anything from Professor Arnold? It should be easy to interrogate someone like that, Eggsy thought back to the hunched, scared figure following Valentine and his bodyguard out of that cabin in Argentina.

Unless… Did Valentine use Professor Arnold as bait?

Valentine must have presumed Lancelot didn’t work alone, the billionare was eccentric but he was no idiot, and he must be paranoid some group was either targeting or will be targeting him with Lancelot’s death. So, maybe the bomb wasn’t Harry’s but Valentine’s? But how could he have known where Harry would be confronting the professor?

He couldn’t.

That meant Professor Arnold was watched somehow, his interactions were tracked and when Harry started questioning him, the bomb was activated.

Eggsy opened his eyes.

They were all conjectures, nothing concrete until he could ferret something more from Harry, and for that, the man had to be awake.

He sighed unhappily, turning to look out the ceiling-high windows where the trees were bare of any leaves and the sky was overcast. If M hadn’t ordered him to keep an eye on Kingsman, he would have failed one of the tasks simply because being here was fruitless and a waste of time.

 

***

**UK HQ, Hampshire, England**

**26 th November 2014**

The door to the hospital room opened silently and the sole occupant turned his head to look at his visitor, deflating with disappointment when it wasn’t the one he hoped for.

“Oh, don’t look like that, your boy hasn’t been told yet and he still has combat training and international politics beside,” Merlin stopped by the bed and pushed his clipboard demandingly at the just-awakened coma patient, “Your password, Galahad. We haven’t been able to access your glasses feed.”

Harry typed in his password, his fingers stiff and weak from disuse much to his consternation.

“How is Eggsy?” Ugh, even his voice was soft and raspy, how terrible.

“He asked about you, at least twice a week. His training is going well, competing for the top place with Roxy, they have different strength and weaknesses. He is weak in theoretical knowledge but excel in practical ones, do you know he can speak Japanese and Chinese fluently? He also has deep interest in other cultures, especially those of Eastern countries. If he takes the Lancelot seat, he can be sent out to those countries more often.”

“If he takes the Lancelot seat? You are rooting for him, then?” Harry cut in with a triumphant smile, impressed Eggsy even got to Merlin.

“I’m only evaluating the best use for the top candidates. It is still a tossup between him and Roxy. Do you want me to continue or not?” Merlin glowered threateningly, unwilling to admit he did have a soft spot for the lad, and only continued when Harry shut his mouth and nodded. “Eggsy scored poorly in NLP, his manners too rough and his techniques too forward. However, he beats everyone in his combat training, both hand-to-hand and firearms. He topped Agravaine’s record in sharpshooting,” Merlin even sounded amazed at this and Harry shared it because Agravaine had been their best sniper for at least the last five decades, “He has a good grasp of strategy, or more precisely, his strategies are too unexpected and thus hard to counter. Our current chess score is 24-19 in my favor.”

“Are you telling me he won against you?” Harry asked in astonishment.

“I won more of our games,” Merlin answered defensively, he’d been so taken aback in that first game he lost against the blond which was the second game they played together. He had asked for a rematch then and there, completely forgetting about the curfew in twenty minutes, and they had started another game. It wasn’t the only time he extended curfew for the group because they were too absorbed in a game.

“Why were you playing against him anyway?”

“He was the odd one out so he asked me,” Merlin smiled wryly, “Because, according to him, I looked lonely.”

Harry’s soft laughter filled the room as he imagined his younger half’s cheeky smirk when he said that and Merlin’s insulted expression at the accusation that he was lonely.

“Well, I’m glad he take care you while I’m out, my friend. Now, can you tell him I’m awake and waiting for him?”

Merlin muttered something undoubtedly insulting under his breath, but did turn around to leave the room with a last suggestion to sleep since Eggsy wouldn’t be here for at least four hours.

Harry later roused from his tired slumber with Eggsy reading in the armchair beside his bed, JB leashed to one foot of the chair. The young man was wearing a dark red suit and light cream shirt, he looked gorgeous. Harry felt warmed by the sight.

“Have you been here long?” His voice sounded more like a croak but Eggsy at least understood as he replied, “Just twenty minutes.”

Harry frowned in dismay, he passed that much time asleep when he could be strengthening their bond?

“You should have woken me up.”

“You just came out of a deep coma, you need the rest,” Eggsy said disapprovingly, finally turning his attention to Harry. “What happened anyway? Merlin said there was no sign of brain trauma,” Eggsy asked lightly, carefully prodding for information. He felt a bit guilty using the man’s sense of guilt over his father’s death for his own gain, well, not strictly his own but still.

“The man I was supposed to question was killed in an explosion and I was affected by some kind chemical from it.”

“The witness is dead? Was it by the same people who killed your friend?”

“Of c–” Harry closed his eyes with a pained frown, “Actually, no, I– I don’t know. I only remember the explosion…” Harry breathed harshly, fingers twisting his blanket agitatedly.

“Shit,” Eggsy hissed and it was drowned out by the fast beeping of the machine as Harry’s heart rate increased. He surged forward to grasp Harry’s shoulders. “Harry, calm down! Hey, come on, it’ll be alright.” The beeping slowed, thank fuck. Eggsy glanced warily at the doors, waiting for a gaggle of nurses to barge in and shoo him out, and when no one came in after a minute, he breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled reassuringly at the older man. “Don’t worry about it, ‘kay? Didn’t ya tell me y’ur fancy glasses can record anything you see? What ya don’t remember will be there, innit? ‘Sides, maybe ya just need more time to access the memory, things like ‘at sometimes happen, right?”

Harry released the blanket and grabbed the sleeve of Eggsy’s suit instead. “Yes, yes, you are right. Thank you, Eggsy.”

“Nah, it’s my fault you ‘ave a panic attack. Let’s talk ‘bout something else, yeah?”

Disappointing.

Hopefully, Merlin would share with the class, or at least with Harry, soon so he could piece together what the hell happened. Harry likely didn’t get anything from Professor Arnold though, it such an unlikely coincidence Valentine blew up the Professor at the time Harry interrogated him, which raised the likelihood of the recently departed professor being bait.

Did Valentine find out Harry’s identity? Most likely, since that was the point of his bait.

So Valentine won this round, he got Harry’s identity and prevented any attempt of recon by the agent, and they still didn’t know the plot he alluded to. Eggsy mentally grimaced.


	3. Chapter 3

_“And thus I clothe my naked villainy_

_With odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ;_

_And seem a saint, when most I play the devil.”_

_― William Shakespeare, Richard III_

 

**UK HQ, Hampshire, England**

**2 nd January 2015**

“…of tomorrow, every man, woman, and child can claim a free SIM card, compatible with any computer, any cellphone, and utilize my communication network for free.”

There were only three people in the room, Roxy and Hugo on the couch in front of the TV and Eggsy sitting cross-legs on his bed with a chess board opened in front of him, he was playing against himself. The name Richmond Valentine had caught Eggsy’s attention when the speaker, Valentine’s assistant, announced his presence. Now, Eggsy was damn glad he didn’t sit on the sofa with the others because his reaction sure would have drawn their attention.

“Wow, Richmond Valentine is really great, isn’t he? That must cost a lot,” Roxy whistled in admiration.

Yeah, he’s a fucking great liar! Eggsy screamed in his head, horror didn’t begin to cover what he felt at the breaking news. That bastard was aiming for global effect! Free SIM card and communication network, billions of people would scramble for it the moment it was released into the market.

Fuck, what a perfect time to be cut off from HQ.

Eggsy wasn’t one for religion but he prayed for Q to please, please, please found out what those SIMs could do before the evil mastermind enacted whatever plot brewing in his crazy genius mind or the world would be fucked.

The rest of the day was spent full of restless energy, waiting for the day’s training to finally end so he could visit his sponsor which had become the highlight of his days here, dredging up piece by little piece of information about the recording from the glasses feed. From his discreet interrogation, Harry really was too trusting for a spy it often made Eggsy questioned his readings of the man and paranoid about his own cover, Eggsy had also found out about Professor Arnold’s Gaia theory which, coupled with recent news, just made Eggsy more wary.

A theory likening humans as virus to Earth’s body, Valentine’s background in climate change research, and the distribution of free SIM card like it’s going out of style?

Eggsy opened the door to Harry’s hospital room, JB obediently following at his heels. Harry was standing by the sink. The older man had finally gotten a clean bill of health and allowed to return to active duty after 5 weeks of grueling physical therapy, to which the man had much to complain about.

“Ever heard of knocking?”

“My level of manners is inversed to any future illegal activities,” Eggsy smirked at the man’s reflection in the mirror, “Merlin said you want to see me.”

They were alone for a few minutes, just enough for Harry to congratulates Eggsy on making it to the top six candidates. Harry inwardly groaned when Merlin came in like an unwanted pest and tried to get Eggsy to leave as if they didn’t have so little time together already.

“Let him observe. He’d learn a thing or two,” Harry countered firmly.

Eggsy smiled to hide his confusion, he was pretty sure that was breaking protocol but Merlin only sighed and allowed it which just made his hair stand on end with apprehension.

Why were they singling him out? He knew the other candidates wouldn’t have been allowed to see the feed of an ongoing mission or they would have said something otherwise, either to boast (Charlie and his cronies) or to confide (Roxy).

 Eggsy let go of his paranoia the moment the video started, showing Harry holding Professor Arnold by his collar and then the explosion. Eggsy couldn’t help the gasp that escaped him.

He knew about the explosion, of course, but certainly not that it was the professor’s head getting blown to bits!

“Imperial College, that’s the place in the news, innit? The one with the bomb? That doesn’t look too large to me.”

“What bomb?” Harry asked, leaning over Merlin to see Eggsy on the other side.

Eggsy glanced at Merlin who was also staring at him with curiosity. “The one they said destroyed more than half of the classroom?”

Merlin tapped the surface of his clipboard, forehead creased with a worried frown. A moment later, the screen showed a news video with a burning old architecture and a group of firemen in the background.

“Galahad, it seems you might have been compromised,” Merlin observed, “I will tell Arthur to assign the mission to Kay, he should arrive here tonight, or tomorrow morning at the latest.”

“It might be for the best. Thank you, Eggsy. I would have walked right into a pit trap otherwise,” Harry said softly, “Merlin, what do you want to show me before?”

“Ah, yes. After analyzing the video a few times, we found the explosion, the first one that caused your coma, Galahad, was caused by an implant in his neck.” Merlin tapped his clipboard a few times and the earlier news coverage changed back to the glasses feed, paused the moment Professor Arnold’s head was tilted to the right and zoomed on the red light glowing just behind his left ear.

“Did my hardware pick up the signal that triggered it?”

“Fortunately, yes. Unfortunately, the IP address it traced it to is registered to the Valentine Corporation. It’s not much of a lead. They have millions employees worldwide.”

“Valentine?” Eggsy perked up and said excitedly, “Now, that man is a genius.” An evil genius, he tacked on mentally.

The other two stared at him, askance. Eggsy stared back at them then said uncertainly, “You guys never watch the news, do you?”

He swiped the clipboard from Merlin’s hands and quickly typed ‘Valentine’, ‘announcement’, ‘free SIM card’ into the search engine then clicked the topmost video result. They watched the announcement, Eggsy for the second time that day. As it ended with Valentine leaving the stage, Merlin took back his clipboard with a stern frown but it was immediately snatched away by Harry. The video zoomed into Valentine’s assistant’s neck and there, a thin scar stood out behind her right ear.

“Valentine’s assistant has the same implant scar.”

“Valentine’s having a gala dinner next week. I’ll get Kay an invitation.”

“Wait, are you saying the guy giving out billions of free SIM card has been going around planting implant to blow up heads?!”

“Yes, exactly,” Merlin answered unhappily.

The Scot soon excused himself with a knowing look at Eggsy, which the young man didn’t see, and a smirk at Harry. With Merlin gone, Harry tried to steer the mood into something lighter but Eggsy talked over him.

“That’s sick! ‘e gonna blow up those SIM cards or what?!” Eggsy paced the room, wringing his hands worriedly. It wasn’t completely acting on his part, just something he wanted to do since he saw the news the first time and he was glad for the chance to just let out the fear simmering in his gut. “Can’t ya do something to stop the distribution? Me mom and mates, the’re gonna be on them the moment those things come out. I mean, free calls, posh blokes like you might not understand.”

Harry flinched. The words stung. It’s not like he could choose the family he was born to but at least he didn’t think like his most of his fellow ‘posh blokes’, shouldn’t that count for something?

“I can tell your friends not to use the SIM card,” Harry suggested weakly.

“Ya an idiot? Why the fuck they woulda listen to ya?”

Eggsy noticed Harry’s dejected look and felt bad about his words but it was something he would have done if he was truly realizing Valentine’s not-charity for the first time. Right now, he was concerned about passing on the message for Q to make those SIM cards his priority. He was pretty sure Q was already on it but there’s nothing wrong with making sure.

“Sorry, ‘Arry. ‘m just worry ‘bout me mates. Will ya really talk to them for me?”

“It’s alright, Eggsy. Of course I will talk to them. Just give me their address and I will go as soon as I’m out of here.”

Eggsy smiled, feeling a tad guilty for manipulating the man but it was for the mission. “Thanks, Harry. Do you have pen and paper here?” Harry rummaged around one of the carts and pulled out the requested items from a container. “Here’s my mom’s address, and then Ryan and Jamal, my friends from back before I moved out. Then can you tell the people in my work too? Only close to a few but the’re good people, ‘specially Quinn. Yeah, ask them to tell Quinn if he’s not in, alright?”

“Quinn?” Harry couldn’t help but asked, because there’s a note of fondness that wasn’t there when Eggsy talked about his two other friends, Ryan and Jamal, and this was the first time he heard anything about this Quinn.

Of course, the question caused alarm to ring in Eggsy’s head. Out of all the names, it was Q’s Harry asked about?

“Quinn introduced me to Michael few years ago and convinced me t’ move out of me ma’s. My best mate, ‘e is,” Eggsy grinned innocently.

That didn’t calm the flutter of jealousy and anxiousness but Harry tucked the emotions carefully away and said sincerely, “I would love to meet him.”

Eggsy maintained his grin by force of habit and necessity. “Yeah? Maybe you’ll meet him when you come by the pub. Bit nerdy, but he’s ace. Kinda like Merlin.” That was surprisingly true. The bald man had endeared himself by virtue of his similarities to Q, they even had the same clothing choice! “By the way, any tips for my next test? Never skydive in me whole life.”

 Just like that, the conversation about his friend ended as Harry indulgently shared his experience in skydiving, recounting past missions where he had to sneak into an estate from the air.

 

***

**UK HQ, Hampshire, England**

**11 th January 2015**

The party was in full swing.

Eggsy had settled himself at the bar earlier on after grabbing a tall glass of champagne from the wandering server and discreetly pouring almost half of it into a convenient pot plant. He was in a black button-up with three buttons undone, showing off his muscular chest and a simple necklace of a bullet on black cord, and shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbow. Currently, he was eavesdropping on the pair of women waiting for their drinks while watching the other guests and filing away what he could get from their attires and body languages.

Out of the corner of his eye, their target made her entrance, greeting people with a smile and polite words, and slowly heading to the bar. Eggsy caught her eyes when the bartender was busy mixing whatever she ordered. He smirked and raised his glass, but instead of approaching, he turned his head away like something else caught his attention. Getting up to leave with his drink, he casted a last lingering glance at the target and smiled ruefully when she looked back at him.

Eggsy moved purposefully past a large group standing around talking and slipped into a booth facing the bar, greeting the two male and a woman already inside and pulling out his phone. He kept busy with his phone while watching Charlie chatting up the target and leading her to an empty sofa. Eggsy waited a few minutes before getting up and making his way around the room, taking another champagne and throwing out a quarter of it on the way.

Eggsy chatted up a brunette, repeating the gossips he heard about this and that person and adding his own observations, and slowly led her to where he can clearly see Charlie’s back and the target’s face, and Roxy too. Apparently, she decided to join forces with Charlie. Keeping his target in his peripheral, Eggsy pretended to sweep the room lazily right when the woman looked past Charlie.

Again, their eyes caught. Eggsy blinked in surprised recognition and aimed a charming smile. The blond woman blushed and smiled back.

Eggsy excused himself from the woman by his side with a sincere apology and parting remark that made her laugh.

“Excuse me,” Eggsy cut into whatever it was Charlie spouting, something about neuro linguistic programming, who the fuck discuss that kind of topic to seduce a woman? “I’m Gary. May I have your name, my lady?”

“Sophie, you can call me Sophie,” the woman laughed, “Aren’t you a polite one? You are the first one to ask for my name.”

Eggsy dragged his gaze to his fellow candidates with meaningful slowness, eyebrows raised in mock surprise. “Well, how rude of them. What do you say we leave these two, love?” Eggsy offered a hand that was clasped quickly, Sophie actually looking relieved to get away from Charlie and Roxy. Wow, they must have done a really shitty job.

“Lady Sophie Montague-Herring, phone call for you at reception,” a waiter interrupted before Eggsy could lead the woman away.

And then Sophie left with a ‘be right back’ and a wave.

“You’re good at this, Eggsy,” Roxy praised.

“Well, he must have a lot of experience, doesn’t he?” Charlie said condescendingly, taking a swallow of his drink.

Eggsy dropped beside Roxy and smirked at Charlie. “Thanks for the compliments, both of you.”

“Ugh, don’t start. I’m tired…”

“Alright, Rox?”

“Sorry to eavesdrop, but there is a much easier way to guarantee getting someone home,” the waiter from before said with a smile, “Rohypnol.”

Just then, Roxy and Charlie went limp. Eggsy was moving within second, smashing his glass against the table, liquid splashing his arm and dripping on his pant leg, and was out of his seat with the jagged piece in hand.

“Better leave, mate. Don’t want an accident here, right?” Eggsy eyed the man warily.

“How do you…”

“Gary, I’m glad you’re still here.”

The waiter whirled around and slipped into the crowd at Sophie’s approach. Eggsy dropped the piece of broken glass and walked over to his target so she didn’t see the mess on the floor.

“Of course I’m here, my lady. Are you finished with your business then?”

“Almost,” Sophie whispered to him with a smile, and Eggsy felt the light prick on his neck.

Eggsy planted a vicious elbow right below her breasts as he stumbled with a curse, satisfied when he a rib gave way. His vision shifted, swiftly darkening at the edge. His last thought was that he had been made, either Merlin or Harry had been onto him, maybe even from the start.

And then he woke up tied to a train track.

Of course it’s a fucking test, Eggsy thought a bit hysterically after the same waiter who had tried to drug him asked not about MI6, but about Kingsman and Harry Hart. He almost laughed out loud at the insistent questioning, even as the train came at him, the white light completely blinding him.

“Fuck you!” he shouted.

The train passed over his body.

Harry gazed down at his soulmate with bubbling pride and anticipation. He watched the feed from Dagonet’s and Safir’s glasses and although he had to grit his teeth every time Eggsy’s eyes caught Safir’s, those beautiful eyes showing hidden interest in someone other than him, he was pleased that Eggsy didn’t fall for the drug. And even he had to admit Eggsy was great at seduction despite his average NLP score, he looked natural at the party.

“Congratulations. Bloody well done.”

Eggsy laughed then, tinged with a bit of remaining hysteria. “How’d the other do? Our target, she okay? I think I broke her rib.”

“Yes, you did quite a number on her, but she is alright, and impressed,” Harry bent down and made quick work at the rope, “Roxy passed with flying colors. Charlie’s up next. Want to watch?”

“Yeah, alright.”

Charlie didn’t pass. The posh bastard spilled the identity of his sponsor easily enough.

Merlin turned around from the screen showing the video of the test where Charlie was still pleading for someone to untie him.

“Galahad. Percival. Your candidates have reached the final stage of the testing process. As tradition allows, you now have 24 hours to spend with them.” After a brief pause, Merlin looked at Eggsy. “Eggsy, you should know your father reached this point. From now on, there are no safety nets. Understood?”

Eggsy and Roxy nodded simultaneously.

“Good. Dismissed.”

 

***

**Harry’s house, South Kensington, London**

The red-walled office was lined with front pages from The Sun from top to bottom, no particular similarity for the dates or the news titles. Eggsy stopped in front of one with a funny headline.

“To pee or not to pee?” He asked amused, reading the content which turned out to be about some science study on urine and stem cells.

“That was the headline the day after I diffused a dirty bomb in Paris.”

Eggsy glanced at the seated man briefly then looked at the news pages with new eyes, scanning the date between papers. There must be at least a hundred pages on these walls, meaning over a hundred missions in his twenty some years of service.

Calculating nine other agents with approximately the same mission counts, the Kingsman was a busy little beehive, weren’t they?

MI6 only knew about a handful of those missions.

Eggsy’s lips twitched into a smile. Well, might as well started gathering information about past missions from a willing source.

That night, Eggsy lied awake on the comfiest bed with the softest sheet he’d ever slept on accompanied by thoughts of his looming test. He could see why M wanted him to keep an eye on Kingsman, had understood his concern since that day he met Chester King in Harry’s hospital room. The way Arthur looked at him, like he was dirt beneath his shoe, and the reason behind it, his status of commoner, blared an alarm when it was Kingsman’s duties to protect the so-called commoner. If the head of the agency had no respect for those they protected, why the fuck were they doing what they did? Eggsy turned restlessly, fluffing his pillow unnecessarily. Becoming an agent was the easiest way to keep an eye on the agency, but it also meant he would no longer be an official MI6 agent, only the Double-O could go around killing people and even they needed accountability.


	4. Chapter 4

_“I know a secret, and secrets breed paranoia.”_

_― Simon Holt, The Devouring_

 

**Kingsman Tailor, Savile Row, London**

**12 th January 2015**

Eggsy really should have expected the small armory in the hidden room within Fitting Room 3, but he didn’t. MI6 definitely didn’t let their armory to be accessed so easily, everything was stored in Q’s domain with the man’s electronic eyes planted in every corner.

Mundane items filled the front shelves, ranging from plain white shirts and shoes to keys and notebooks, and Eggsy was certain they weren’t as innocent an item as they looked. He still remembered Harry’s dart-shooting watch. At the back were the obvious weaponries, ranging from knives of all lengths to sniper rifles. It was a bit disappointing not to see any other kind of weapons though, he was rather partial to pole arms after his eight-month stint in Japan doing surveillance on a prostitution-cum-drug-trafficking ring.

“Oxfords, not Brogues. Words to live by, Eggsy. Words to live by.”

Eggsy accepted the pair of shoes offered to him, absently wondering if he should be disturbed the older man knew his size without needing to ask.

“How do they feel?” Harry asked when Eggsy stood up and walked around a bit to get used to the new dress shoes, knowing he picked the fitting size for his soulmate, “Now do your very best impersonation of a German aristocrat’s formal greeting.”

Eggsy stared blankly. “You mean the Nazi Salute?”

Harry winced. “No, Eggsy.” And then he snapped his feet together, a short blade coming out of the sole. Harry almost preened at the rising interest in Eggsy’s eyes and he described the blade’s additional, if deadly, feature, “It is coated with one of fastest-acting neurotoxin known to man, so very carefully.” He pushed the blade against the wall lightly to slip it back in.

Noticing the excited gleam in the younger man’s eyes, Harry picked another poisonous item in their collection, the poison pen. “I had a lot of fun with this. One of our finest examples of chemical engineering. Poison. Harmless when ingested, but at a time convenient to you… it can be remotely activated,” he flipped the pin, “Primed. Lethal.”

With Harry focused on the slim item of poisonous death, he didn’t noticed the flicker of nervousness crossing Eggsy’s face and the beginning of a shudder at the thought that Kingsman could have poisoned him anytime without him knowing about it until he died, suddenly and without explanation. He had tried to be extra careful during meals, yes, waiting until the others had started and eating only the things another had taken. At least he didn’t have to worry about breakfast that morning since he’d made it for them and prepared the table himself before Harry even stirred.

“It has unlimited time from when the poison is ingested until it’s activated? Does it have distance limit to activate?” Eggsy asked nonchalantly, standing up to look closely at the innocent-looking items while preparing a dozen scenarios to lift the pen and deliver the thing to Q just in case he needed the antidote.

“The poison actually only stays for more or less 24 hours before the body naturally break it down and we have to be within 1 km radius with the victim to be able to activate the poison.”

24 hours.

Assuming the possibility he’d been poisoned last while unconscious, he had until tonight to see if he was going to drop dead.

“Everything on this side related to poison and drugs or what? I remember that watch of yours. What about this?” Eggsy selected a golden lighter, “Produce poison gas, maybe?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. That’s a hand grenade. The only other drug here is that cologne, its effect is like Rohypnol if you smell it too much from too close.”

“And the ring? Is it a bug? Definitely not a camera, you have the glasses for that.”

“A gentleman traditionally wear the signet on his left hand, but a Kingsman wears it on whatever hand happens to be dominant. If you touch the contact behind the ring, it delivers 50,000 volts. Come, the other room should be empty now.”

Eggsy allowed the older man to pass and quickly swiped a lighter and a pen from the display after making sure he was at the other’s blindspot. The chance was slim there’s no alarm for theft but it was a risk he was willing to take, especially with Harry’s apparent soft spot. He was right, of course, he didn’t get away with the stolen items, and Harry didn’t sound angry with his warning, only amused. It didn’t matter, he just had to pass the test and fill in Lancelot seat, and he would have access to all those wonderful items. He should persuade Q to invent more weaponry instead of pure recon gadgets.

They stepped out of the fitting room right into a tense tableau between Valentine and his blades-for-legs bodyguard against a middle-aged gentleman in bespoke suit. The stout, brown-haired gentleman had their back to them but Eggsy could see the signature thick-framed glasses and golden signet ring, the same accessories Harry was wearing, and the dead Lancelot.

Shit.

Eggsy’s eyes flew to the dark-haired bodyguard and indeed, her eyes were narrowed at Harry’s right hand where the signet ring gleamed in the dim lighting of the shop and then she scrutinized Harry’s face. Eggsy fixed his face into polite boredom, mixed with the slightest bemusement as he stared at Valentine’s suit and hat combination. He tracked the bodyguard’s movements in his peripheral, noting when the woman glanced at him as he expected, his simple shirt instead of expensive tailored suit and his lack of glasses and ring, and written him off as no threat.

 

***

**UK HQ, Hampshire, England**

Twin bangs echoed in the halls of the large mansion, one shot followed by another in fraction of a second, the sound of one covered by the other.

Eggsy still sat in the ornate armchair, eyes bright with adrenaline pumping in his blood despite his loose posture, when Roxy and Merlin walked into the room from the narrow hallway between bookshelves.

His heart had stuttered when Arthur aimed the gun at his head, fight or flight instinct triggered as his vision narrowed to the finger curled around the trigger, convinced the old man was really out to kill him, either because he knew his true identity or he truly dislike him enough as Lancelot candidate to get rid of him. And he knew Arthur would, get rid of him that is, if the old man could have a plausible reason or chance to do it without rousing any suspicion his way.

“Well, congratulations to both of you. The next test will be a supervised mission with your sponsors. Coincidentally, something just came in a few minutes before you two got here,” the picture of a church replaced the reflective surface of the mirror above the fireplace, “This is South Glade Mission Church in Kentucky, the place you both will head to with Percival and Galahad. It’s a simple surveillance mission. Find out what Richmond Valentine intends to do there. The jet is being prepared so you have two hours before the plane departed.”

“I think it’s best to put surveillance inside and outside the church, Merlin. Galahad and Mr. Unwin can look for Valentine inside while Percival and Ms. Morton keep a lookout on the surrounding area,” Arthur put in.

Eggsy tensed.

Surely Harry had reported to him about the altercation in the shop? Was Harry so focused on Valentine he didn’t see the bodyguard’s obvious study of him? If not Harry, then shouldn’t the other, Kay, spotted it?

“Back at the shop earlier, Valentine’s bodyguard recognized Harry, sir. Shouldn’t we be the ones staying out of his sight?” Eggsy suggested.

Merlin frowned at his clipboard. “Neither Harry nor Kay reported anything about that actually. Are you sure she recognized Harry and not simply suspicious of a stranger?”

“Do you have the feed from Harry’s glasses?”

A few seconds later, the screen changed into a video of the shop with Valentine as center focus and the female bodyguard lingering behind unobtrusively.

“There, look at the woman. She was staring at Harry’s and the other agent’s hand,” Eggsy wiggled the little finger of his right hand in front of him, “You do have rather distinct signature. And then wait… There, she was staring right at Harry’s face, probably saw him from their surveillance of Professor Arnold.”

“The ring,” Merlin muttered in dismayed realization, “That’s how they singled out Kay in the gala. They must have searched James’ body for any identifying item.”

Eggsy inwardly groaned.

Fucking great. So now Valentine knew the face of at least two Kingsman agents, more if he asked around his no doubt not inconsiderable network for unknown agents wearing specific golden signet ring.

Whose idea it was for a spy to wear identifying items anyway?

“Anyway, I think you’re right, Eggsy. It’ll be better for Percival and Roxy to check inside the church. And I’ll need to warn Percival about his ring.”

“No,” Arthur interrupted, “We will send in Galahad and Mr. Unwin into the church. Valentine wouldn’t have known they will be waiting and we wouldn’t have another agent known to him.”

An uneasy shiver crawled up his spine and Eggsy really, really wished to just get out of this room, away from Arthur and his alarming dislike. He couldn’t fight it out with the head of Kingsman in his home ground, or anywhere else really, so he needed the flight response.

“Understood, sir.” He waited a beat and, “Are we done here?”

He spun on his heel and strode for the door, slow and composed, the moment Merlin uttered his dismissal. He didn’t wait for Roxy, and barely uttered a soft command for JB to follow him.

 

***

**South Glade Mission Church, Kentucky, USA**

Ten hours later, Eggsy was listening to a crazy preacher from the antechamber beside the chancel, back against the wall beside the door and sticking his head out to take a sweep of the nave. He couldn’t see the front part due to the wooden separator but Harry was sitting as part of the congregation so he could see if Valentine sat in front of him, although why he chose a seat in the middle, not at the back, was puzzling. Judging by the people traffic after Harry entered, the place should’ve only been half-filled then, many empty seats at the back where he could have taken in more of the room without turning his head too much. While most of the people filled in the front seats first, it wouldn’t be too questionable if he took the back seat.

“Charming sermon,” Merlin’s voice sounded from the glasses, the comment dripping with sarcasm, “Can either of you see Valentine anywhere?”

“Nope. You sure he’ll be here himself? Not one of his guards or something?” Eggsy muttered.

There was silence from the comm. before Merlin answered tentatively, “There’s always that possibility.”

Eggsy sighed. “So we don’t…” He spotted the security camera at the back and a quick glance at the whole interior turned another two cameras. “Merlin, can you check if someone outside the church is accessing those cameras?”

“Galahad, Eggsy, Valentine’s obviously not inside, get out of there. Be careful, anyone there could be with Valentine.”

“We look outside then?” Eggsy asked wryly as he pulled his head back.

He never heard Merlin’s reply, or the frantic calls after.

Merlin watched first in confusion which shifted quickly into horror as the church fell into complete anarchy. He sat at the edge of his seat, knuckles white and shaking, calling out to Harry and Eggsy as both tore through the equally brutal mass. He ignored Percival’s and Roxy’s worried queries except to forbid them from approaching the church not matter what happened, the last thing he needed was for all four of them to kill each other. Merlin felt his heart jumped to his throat when his two agents crossed ways in the aisle, Harry with a gun in hand and Eggsy with a long metal pole from a candle holder. Harry let loose two shots, one barely avoided and the other hit Eggsy’s shoulder ineffectively when the younger agent rushed forward and swing the pole vertically, hitting Harry’s jaw and throwing him back against a row of chairs. They were quickly beset by others and Merlin released the breath he had been holding when they were suitably distracted from each other, continuing on to other targets and moving to different sides of the nave. It didn’t take long for two trained agents to kill off untrained civilians, Harry appropriating the weapons of the other church-goers in addition to his own arsenal and Eggsy wielding the candle holder with the skill of an expert, Merlin noted to ask the lad about that if he came back alive.

And then there were two.

“Oh God,” Merlin choked out.

He was going to lose both of them, if not from this then from grief and guilt. He needed to do something.

He fumbled to unmute Percival’s and Roxy’s channels and snapped curtly, “Any sign of Valentine?”

On the screen, Eggsy pulled out his gun with his left hand and emptied his magazine, shooting at Harry, only two finding their mark, one went through the seam between arm and shoulder and the other grazing Harry’s cheek. Harry ran toward his protégé-slash-soulmate with the wooden stake he pulled out from the preacher he just killed.

“Percival, Roxy, report, now.” Merlin barely glanced at the feeds from the still sane agents before his eyes anxiously flew back to Harry’s and Eggsy’s.

“No sign yet,” both agents replied and then Roxy added, “What’s happening Merlin? Why did you cut off Eggsy’s and Galahad’s comm.?”

“Valentine did something,” Merlin swallowed, purposely looking away from the feeds where Harry and Eggsy were still trying their best to kill each other. Eggsy was surprisingly having the upper-hand, his proficiency with a pole weapon clearly superior to Harry and despite Harry’s superior hand-to-hand skill, he had a hard time getting closer to Eggsy. “Everyone but Galahad and Eggsy are dead, and those two are doing their best to off the other. That’s why I need you two to find Valentine, pronto. Whatever affected the church is localized and Valentine come here himself, whatever he has must be close range,” Merlin elaborated.

Eggsy was mid-somersault when the haze clouding his mind cleared. His concentration lost at the sudden change, he lost his balance and barely completed the move, landing in a hasty crouch. He looked up and his eyes clashed with Harry’s horrified ones. The other had a long stake in hands, extended with the pointy end mere inches from Eggsy’s face.

Harry flinched back, weapon falling to the floor from limp hands with a loud, echoing clatter in the otherwise silent church. He looked stricken.

“Galahad, Eggsy, get out of the church. We’ve got Valentine,” Merlin’s interruption was a blessing and both agents snapped to attention, automatically falling into the familiar routine of following their handler’s guidance.

Eggsy looked around the interior of the church, littered with the bodies of civilians, innocent if unpleasant, once before following Harry out the door. They had killed more than half of those people in total, he knew he had killed at least two dozens of them.

They had been uncontrolled.

Mindless brutality.

He gritted his teeth. He needed to warn Q. He wasn’t going to let that lunatic bastard did something like this on a worldwide scale.


	5. Chapter 5

_“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”_

_― Lao Tzu_

**Kingsman Jet, en route to Russia**

**13 th January 2015**

Twelve hours after they interrogated Valentine and his bodyguard, Gazelle, and revealed Arthur as a traitor, the five involved agents were in a jet heading for the coordinates kindly provided by Valentine. It was fortunate Percival decided to check the houses around the church and found the right one on his second pick after Merlin told them of the situation inside the church. Percival had spotted two men dressed in dark suit sitting around in the kitchen of the supposedly empty house, and then he had thrown a grenade lighter into the room. The commotion had drawn Valentine and Gazelle, stopping the signal that had affected everyone in the church. Percival got the drop on Gazelle and it was a matter of minutes to subdue the woman and after that, Valentine. An interrogation and quick search of the house resulted in a treasure trove of information, most important of all was the book containing a very long list of names and titles ranging from prominent figures of various field of knowledge to company heads to royalty in every country.

Chester King’s name had been listed and checked under the security agencies category.

Eggsy was glad the others were so hung up on that name or they would have noticed the hitch in his breath when he read ‘Gareth Mallory’ in the list.

They had picked up Merlin and changed the plane with a freshly prepared one at UK HQ with the tech wizard doubling as pilot and handler. Merlin had sent the coordinates to all of Valentine’s VIP guests, Chester King included, and if everything went according to plan, it would allow Percival to take Chester’s place and get them access to the bunker’s internal security network. From there, Merlin hopefully could hack into Valentine Corp database, retrieve the ID of every exploding implant and their receivers, and delete everything on the SIM cards design. If he couldn’t, Percival and Roxy would have to sneak into the control room while Harry and Eggsy get to play backup. Merlin had shut down the beginning of Harry’s predictable protest by listing every injury they sustained.

Harry had then gone to sulk in the corner while the others gathered by the monitor getting briefed.

Eggsy dropped into the seat in front of Harry, sliding a glass of whiskey across the table. Harry stared at it before lifting it slowly and taking a sip of the amber liquid.

“You’ve been quiet.”

Harry deliberately didn’t look up. He hadn’t been able to look at the younger man since the church. How could he? After what he did? He almost killed his soulmate, no matter it was under Valentine evil SIM card’s influence. The thought of all those other people he killed in the church didn’t even bother him half as much.

“Don’t worry about me, Eggsy. I just have a lot on my mind,” Harry attempted to smile, which he was sure looked more like a grimace.

“You know what we did was out of our control, right?”

“It doesn’t excuse me attacking you. I tried to kill you. I hurt you.”

“Nah, gave as good as I got. How’s that shoulder? And I almost got you in the neck,” Eggsy reminded with a pointed look at the bandage wrapped around the other’s neck. They were really lucky to get out of that only with bruises and non-fatal wounds. Eggsy was fucking glad he had prior training with MI6 or he would have joined the other bodies lying lifeless inside that church.

“I should be taking care of you, not hurting you,” Harry replied miserably.

Eggsy rolled his eyes with a huff. “Just cause you’re my sponsor doesn’t mean ya have to coddle me, I can take care of meself, you know.”

“I know you can take care of yourself, you’ve done an excellent job all these years, but you are my soulmate and I raise not just my hand, but weapons, against you,” Harry’s voice was rising towards the end and attracting attention from the other three at the front of the jet.

Eggsy didn’t notice the curious glances though, too fixated on what Harry just said, his mind frozen on the word ‘soulmate’.

He put down his glass and leant back into the comfy armchair, fingers squeezing the bridge of his nose as he exhaled a shaky breath, suddenly far more tired than he had been even ten minutes ago. “Is this why you are so…” he tried to find the right word and finally settled on, “indulgent, with me?”

He remembered all those takeout dinners, with foods he had chosen for a completely different purpose, messages he asked to pass on to his ‘friends’, and his rather uncharitable thoughts for the older man’s helpfulness.

He’d never thought much about his soulmate, never paid any special attention to the black numbers on his arm. He had seen what his mother went through after his father died and it was enough deterrent to the thought of finding his own soulmate. And then he had joined MI6 and that occupation didn’t lend to an open relationship thus the idea of soulmates fell even further from his mind.

Didn’t mean he ever intended to lead them on, whoever they were. But that’s exactly what he did to Harry.

Bloody fuck.

“What do you mean indulgent?” Harry frowned. He didn’t understand why Eggsy thought he was indulgent, they were only having dinners together and he might have delivered a few messages to his friends but they weren’t against the rules. Anyone of the candidates could have asked any Kingsman staff for the same things, it’s just a matter if the request would be fulfilled.

Eggsy dropped his hand and looked straight at Harry, guilty, regretful and apologetic. “Harry, I just knew you’re my soulmate in the last five minutes. I never tried to find my soulmate, never even stepped a foot into the Registry Office.” _And I used your honest intention for my own gain._

“Oh,” Harry whispered, breathless and shaken by the admission. He swallowed through the lump in his throat, eyes tearing from the pain in his chest.

He had been rejected. Of course Eggsy didn’t want him as a soulmate, who would want someone 24 years older as a partner. How ridiculous. He should’ve known better.

The glass slipped from shaking, numb fingers, liquid sloshed over his pants and shoes, and the heavy crystal dropped onto carpeted floor with a dull thud.

“Shit!” Eggsy half-rose from his seat, hands fluttering uncertainly, torn between reassuring the other man and fleeing the no doubt emotionally-fraught conversation. “Harry, I– Shit. I didn’t know, I’m sorry,” Eggsy shut his mouth, unable to say anything else. He couldn’t say anything about his work with MI6, couldn’t promise any kind of relationship without a conflict of interest between their agencies. He didn’t even know if he could continue his mission with this new revelation.

“I– It’s alright, really, Eggsy,” Harry murmured shakily, gaze skittering everywhere but at his soulmate, “It wa– was my fault. I should have known better.”

Eggsy hated the tearful, broken chuckle Harry let out but it was nothing to the hatred for being the cause of it.

And what the fuck did he mean should have known better?!

Eggsy reached over to cup Harry’s jaw gently and tilted it so their eyes met. “I’ll…think about it, ‘aight? None of this should’ve known better, whatever you mean by that. We’ll talk after all this Valentine business’s done.” After he got the chance to talk to M.

 

***

**Valentine’s bunker, Komi Republic, Russia**

**14 th January 2015**

Eggsy slid down the small opening on the cell door. And had to move aside quickly when a jagged piece of wood almost impaled his eye.

“M!” He hissed.

“Gary?”

“Yeah. Back up from the door, please, I’m coming in.”

They didn’t have much time, certainly not enough for a full report, but Eggsy only needed instruction on how to proceed with the mission with his soulmate business.

“Galahad is their most senior agent, isn’t he? Then he will be the next Arthur,” Mallory mused, staring at one of his best field agent. Admittedly, this was an unexpected development. Of course, he had expected the young agent to become a Kingsman, his prior training would have guaranteed him completing all the tests. He would have been their undercover agent in Kingsman then. But with his soulmate working for the agency, it would be a different level of difficulty. “It is imperative we hold on to our plausible deniability of the existence of the agency thus you have two choices, Gary, continue as our agent and sever all ties with the agency, or take your place in the Round Table and become our confidential informant.”

Eggsy hesitated. “Can I tell Harry what I was? Nothing about our workings, just that I was tasked to watch over the agency.”

“You’ve always been very brave,” Mallory shook his head with a smile but added solemnly, “If… If he rejects you, know that you will have a place with us.”

Mallory watched his ex-agent’s retreating figure wistfully. It was a pity he lost one of his most promising agents since Bond. The paperwork for his promotion to double-O status had just arrived at his desk when Valentine kidnapped him, but it seemed he wouldn’t need it anymore.

 

***

**Jinglong Hotel, Chengdu, China**

**2 nd March 2015**

The view from room N17 of the hotel overlooked the city and Jinjiang River running south and east of the hotel. It was especially beautiful at night with multi-colored lights of the city reflecting off the dark water of the river. Half the rooms in the hotel had a balcony for their occupants to enjoy the fresh night air and relax, room N17 being one of those privileged rooms. Room N17 was empty though, its single occupant nowhere in sight, the glass sliding doors opened wide, sheer white curtains rippling with every sigh of the wind.

Next morning, the couple staying in the room below would wake up to the sight of a body swinging in front of their window, hung there by a rope made from starch white bed sheet and maroon blanket.

A twenty-something blond male slipped into an empty seat across a middle-aged man with carefully-styled brown hair and bespoke suit.

“Sorry, I’m late, love. Meeting took more time than expected,” Eggsy murmured apologetically, hand gently squeezing his lover’s atop the table.

Harry smiled, happy and relief at Eggsy’s appearance, not caring one whit he had to sit alone in the restaurant for the last thirty minutes. Their relationship was quite young after all, not even two months yet, and this was only their second date with how busy they’d both been cleaning Valentine’s mess. He would be lying if he said he didn’t worry about Eggsy leaving him, either because he found someone else or he tired of being with an old man.

“It’s alright. I know how unpredictable our work could be. I have experienced many such meetings myself, some of them even extended for days.”

“Still, sorry I made you wait, especially when you were always punctual for our dates,” Eggsy replied teasingly.

Harry blushed.

Of course Eggsy noticed the deviations from his habitual lateness, if not the reason for them, or he was sure the younger man would be upset otherwise. Harry couldn’t tell him he didn’t want to disappoint his lover, to give him any more reason to leave him. He already had his age and his declining appeal against him, lines had appeared on his face and the short stint as Arthur already reduced his physical fitness.

“How about I made it up to you?” Eggsy continued, unaware of Harry’s train of thought, “I asked our resident wizard for a business in Japan, we can do a little sightseeing while there. I stayed there for six months once, in Kyoto, it’s a lovely place. This time of year, the sakura trees are in bloom, it will be a beautiful sight.”

Harry appreciated the rare piece of personal information more than the chance of a visit to a beautiful country. He smiled, “That will be nice.”


	6. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter.

**Moonlight Hall, London**

**31 st October 2015**

“Gary?”

The call drew both men’s attention.

Eggsy’s eyes widened at the sight of the familiar blond with the familiar infuriating smirk.

“Bond. What are you doing here?” He greeted flatly, automatically scanning the immediate vicinity for other’s companion, because there’s no way the agent came into a bar without a woman on his arm.

James trailed his gaze to the unknown older man who had been staring at him since his greeting with something so much like jealously. He smirked at his former protégé. “So cold, Gary. Is that how you treat all your ex-lover?”

“Don’t tell me you are here just to ruin my night,” Eggsy groaned, irritated his mission-slash-date was disturbed before they even have a seat.

Beside him, unnoticed by Eggsy, Harry withdrew into himself as one of the scenarios from his nightmare played out right in front of him. It had been almost a year since they were officially together, but Eggsy still mostly kept to himself, rarely talking about his past if at all even when Harry prodded him. Harry didn’t even know Eggsy had had a male lover before him, they never talked about that. The other blond was roguishly handsome, dangerously charming, and obviously a friend of Eggsy, their banter held a note of familiarity and none of the hostility of the words.

“Bond, you said you are going to get us a drink… Gary!”

“Q–Quinn! What are you doing in a place like this?” Eggsy sputtered, eyes flitting between his dark-haired friend and blond-haired ex-lover and then decisively narrowed on the infamous womanizer. “Bond, how about we go get our respective partners a drink?” he asked pleasantly and dragged the agent away without waiting for a reply.

Q smirked as their retreating forms were swallowed by the dancing crowd. He had a suspicion their conversation would involve a lot of barely veiled threats on his young friend’s part.

“I’m sorry for that, Mr. Hart. Gary can be really impulsive, especially when it concerns his friends and family,” Q addressed his friend’s soulmate, “I’m Nathaniel Quinn, but everyone call me Quinn.”

Harry smiled blandly. “So you are his best friend. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please call me Harry.”

“Ah, yes, I heard you’re the one who warned us about those Valentine’s SIM card. We really appreciated it, Harry. However,” Q’s polite smile turned sharp and his voice went a touch lower, “If you hurt our Gary, it won’t stop us from making your life miserable.” His threat delivered, Q advised sympathetically, “You should be more confident, Harry. You are allowed to feel jealous when an ex-lover flirts with your partner. It’s hard to have a soulmate so charming and secretive, Gary and Bond are the same in those respects, but at least you’re lucky Gary isn’t the type to flirt with every beautiful woman he sees.”

“You and Mr. Bond?” Harry asked hesitantly, glancing at the way their partners had gone off to.

“I’m his soulmate, yes,” Q confirmed, “We started dating four months ago but we’ve known we’re each other’s soulmate for three years. Gary was the only one who knew, it’s the reason they broke up even though they were happy with their relationship.” Q still remembered the day his friend confronted him about his soulmate. It was the only time Eggsy had been truly angry with him, and not because he was Bond’s soulmate but because he didn’t tell him he was Bond’s soulmate. “He is a really loyal person. You are very lucky to have him as a soulmate, Harry.”

“Yes, I am,” Harry agreed with a smile.

It wasn’t long before Eggsy and Bond returned with four glasses, Martini for Harry and simple Scotch for Q. Eggsy gave a questioning glance when Harry wrapped his arm around his lover’s waist and pulled him closer but Harry just planted a chaste kiss on his lips. Harry discreetly nodded his thanks for Quinn’s advice.


End file.
